Shopping and the Single Male

For the buy-on-the-fly guy, a simple trip to the local supermarket can become a very daunting task

By Carrie Alexander, KRT Campus

ORLANDO, Fla.—If you peek into Chris Dugan’s refrigerator, you’re not likely to find much. A jar of salsa, perhaps. Probably a jug of juice. Strawberry jelly. Eggs. Cheese. And most likely beer.

Refrigerator contents are sparse because Dugan, 23, isn’t one to slave over a stove every night. He’s more likely to be eating at the Hooters around the corner, ordering a pizza or assembling a sandwich in his kitchen.

Call it a life in transition. In early 2002, Dugan was a college student studying economics while sharing an apartment with three other students. Not long after graduation, he moved into an apartment in College Park, Md., with his girlfriend Megan. For months now, he’s been living in Orlando, on a temporary work assignment, learning to live on his own.

“ It’s a real adjustment to a different kind of lifestyle from being in the dorm or apartment where everyone eats snack foods all the time,” said Seminole County, Fla., extension agent Rita Law-McCumber.

Dugan, a management associate for CitiFinancial in Orlando, said adjusting to life in Orlando means he’s got a bit less playtime on his hands, a little more money in his pocket and a few new responsibilities, such as grocery shopping.

In college, he said, he often ate late at night, and the meals usually consisted of canned stew, pizza, macaroni and cheese, ramen noodles and similar easy, low-cost foods. “It was four guys in an apartment and we just sort of scrounged whatever food we could find,” he said.

When he moved in with his girlfriend, she handled most of the shopping and meal preparation. Now that he’s on his own in Orlando, he tends to “scrounge for food” again rather than cook for himself.

We decided to follow Dugan on a recent trip to the market to see how a single guy spends his grocery money. We took along extension agent Law-McCumber to see what Dugan is doing right, and to offer him suggestions on how he could improve his spending habits.

Most of the time, Dugan said, he shops only once a month and spends about $100. But he’s not looking to buy a month’s worth of meals. He travels occasionally for his job, rarely eats breakfast and prefers to dine out for lunch four to five days a week. Sometimes he skips dinner because his large lunches keep him feeling full through the evening.

Dugan doesn’t bother with a list before he heads off to the supermarket where he usually shops. “I walk in and pick up some things completely by the seat of my pants,” he said. “I don’t have a food budget, I just eat what I eat.”

Law-McCumber isn’t surprised by his approach. “He’s definitely typical for his age group,” she said.

On this trip, Dugan starts down the juice aisle and picks up a jug of V-8 Splash. “I drink a lot of juice,” he said.

Law-McCumber said juice is a good, healthful choice, but for a little extra effort Dugan could save money by buying frozen juice that can be mixed with water.

Next, Dugan heads to the deli, where he picks up sliced roast beef and provolone cheese that he can use to make sandwiches. This is a good idea, Law-McCumber said, because it’s quick, easy and healthful. Choosing the deli selections that are on sale is an even better idea.

Then Dugan visits the produce section briefly —long enough to grab a handful of oranges to snack on and a bag of spinach, which he’ll use as a bed for canned tuna. Law-McCumber notices that Dugan searches for the largest oranges in the bin.

When buying fruit by the pound, size doesn’t matter as much, Law-McCumber says, but when oranges are four for $1, it’s better to grab the larger fruit as Dugan has done. She suggests that Dugan buy more produce to snack on—perhaps a bag of washed carrots that won’t require preparation time. This will keep him from snacking on more expensive and less healthful foods, she said.

Dugan admits, “I grew up as a meat-and-potato kid,” but said, “Occasionally I’ll get a salad or something. I’m getting most of my basic food groups.”

He zigzags through several aisles to pick up two large cans of tuna, a bottle of Arizona green tea, a half-gallon of milk, a bag of cookies and a case of beer. Although Dugan might normally buy a few more items, he isn’t filling his cart on this trip. He doesn’t like to leave food in his refrigerator to spoil while he’s out of town, he said.

Law-McCumber notices that several of the items in Dugan’s basket are on sale. He admits that he watches for sale items as he walks through the store. “If it’s on sale, that catches my eye,” he said. “I think, `Well, that will keep me alive for another week.’”

Dugan’s attention to sales is good news to Law-McCumber. “That’s probably because he studied economics,” she said. She suggests he might shave a little extra off his budget if he picks up the store’s sale circular and then makes a list based on his needs and the store’s discounts. Also, take the time to compare unit prices, she said. Larger isn’t always cheaper.

Law-McCumber said Dugan also could save time and money by being aware of the store layout so he can quickly find the items and then head for the checkout. Shoppers who have to search for products often grab extra items that aren’t on the list.

One of the biggest budget killers can be dining out instead of preparing meals at home, Law-McCumber said. Dugan could eat more healthfully and save money with a few new shopping and cooking habits, she says.

Dugan said he cooks only about once every other week. “It’s really more preparing a meal than cooking,” he said. “I slop together whatever I can find.”

In his corporate apartment he has a frying pan, two cooking pots, a spatula and a large spoon. “It wasn’t really stuff that I could work with,” he said.

He uses his microwave mostly for popcorn and occasionally for a frozen Boca Burger, a meatless burger. But otherwise he doesn’t care for frozen dinners.

Singles aren’t likely to prepare meals for themselves every evening, Law-McCumber said, but Dugan can learn to fix healthful meals from time to time.

A tabletop electric grill or an electric skillet could help him prepare some fun meals, she said. The key is to keep meal strategies simple. She suggests stir-frying some type of protein, such as chicken with chopped vegetables from the produce section or the frozen-food section, and serving the dish over rice.

Also, Law-McCumber said, if he’s willing to plan, he could put diced chicken, vegetables, liquid and spices into a slow cooker, and when he comes home from work, he’ll have ready-to-eat stew or soup.

Dugan said he does make an effort to choose healthful foods even while he’s on his own in Orlando, but he admits, “I do eat healthier with my girlfriend. She actually eats vegetables.”